Multnomah County commissioners delay Preschool for All tax index proposal vote

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Preschool for All supporters are disappointed after the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners voted to postpone deciding on whether or not they will index the tax.

Commissioners agreed to postpone the decision in a 3-2 vote. Preschool for All supporters packed the boardroom hoping to see commissioners strike down the item altogether.

“Instead, we kicked the can down the road, which means that families have to wonder if at some point during this school year, they will lose access to Preschool for All,” Family Forward Oregon Executive Director Candice Williams said. “That’s– that’s crazy. That is scary. We’re talking about families who might not be able to go to the second term of college. We’re talking about families who might not be able to pay their rent or their mortgage.”

Williams said delaying the decision does not create any confidence for families.

“It doesn’t create any confidence for our small business owners who are worried about their workforce,” she said. “It doesn’t create any confidence in Portlanders who really believe that 64% of them who voted for this program should get what they want, and it doesn’t provide any confidence with knowing that we’ll reach full universality by 2030.”

Melissa Burgess is a Preschool for All parent, and she also attended the meeting. She said her own experience of paying for childcare has shown her the importance of the program. Now she said she wants commissioners to consider people like her.

“What we’re asking for is our lawmakers to stand with the voters who overwhelmingly voted for this program,” she said. “And we want the confidence that they’re going to do everything that they can to make sure that this program can reach universal reality.”

This vote means commissioners will continue to consider indexing the Preschool for All tax. In that time, Williams said the program supporters are not going away.

“We will continue to organize,” she said. “We’ll continue to bring together moms and caregivers and families. We’ll continue to talk to small– we’ll continue to talk to small business owners, who are telling us every day how and how vital this is to their workforce. And we’ll continue to keep people ready and on deck to fight whenever that day comes.”

Now the board will discuss this item at a later date, but the date is not set.